Stamp-affixing machine



F. R. ALLEN. STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE. APPLICATION r1150 AUG. 8. 1911. RENEWED JAN. 28, 1916.

Patent ed Aug. 15, 1916.

Fig.1.

. g 6 36 f f x o l F 7/ FRED R. ALLEN, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO NATIONAL ENVELOPE SEALING AND STAMPING MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

STAMP-AFFIXING MACHINE.

Application filed August 8, 1911, Serial No. 642,968.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED R. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp- Ai'lixing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stamp affixing machines.

One of the objects of my present inven tion is to provide a machine of the character indicated having means whereby a single downward stroke of the plunger actuates mechanism to feed the stamp strip forward,

cut a stamp from the strip and affix the severed stamp to the envelop.

By my improved construction all of the stamps remain inside of the casing until one is fed forward which is immediately affixed.

1- is a side elevation showing a section.

through the casing of the machine and illustrating both the actuating and the feeding mechanism in normal position. Fig. 2- is a perspective view of the stamp table with the friction or tension member mounted thereon. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the feeding arm. Fig. 41 is an enlarged view showing a pair of feeding fingers connected together. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the actuating arm and the controlling lever for said arm in operative position relative thereto. tional end elevation of the handle end of the controlling lever showing the detent by which the lever is controlled and moved from its operative to its inoperative position.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the casing for a stamp affixing machine which may be made in any desired shape or Specification of Letters Patent.

Fig. 6 is a sec- 1 Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

Renewed January 28, 1916. Serial No. 7%875.

size. A substantially semi-cylindrical cap 2 is hinged at 3 and adapted to be swung back from the main casing to permit the roll of stamps 4 mounted on the pin 5 to be placed within the casing. The detail construction of this casing is more particularly described in my co-pending application Serial Number 614,097.

The stamp table 6, see Fig. 2, is secured in position to the side of the casing by screws or other suitable means, not shown, the top face of the bed being provided with longitudinal corrugations 7 and the side edges 8 and 9 are slightly raised above the Y face of the table.

A tension member 10 is constructed somewhat in the form of a letter H having two parallel legs 11 and 12 connected by a cross bar 13, the rear ends of these legs being turned upward as at 14l1d to receive and guide the stamp strip which is led beneath the same over the table. In order to provide a slight pressure at the forward end of this tension member to hold the stamp strip in position and prevent it from moving backward by the return stroke of the feeding fingers I have pivoted this member at 15 to the side of the table and have provided a forwardly extending ear 16 on which acts the spring 17 which serves to provide the necessary tension on this member.

At 18 is the feeding arm which is pivoted at its lower end 19 to swing back and forth on one side of this table, said arm being provided with a laterally extending pin 20 on which the feeding fingers 21 are pivotally mounted. The rear ends of these fingers are connected by means of the springs 22, preferably one to each pair, to the laterally extending spring attaching bar 23 whereby the necessary tension is exerted on said feeding fingers to cause them to enter the perforations in the stamp strip and feed the same forward at each forward stroke of the feeding arm. The lower end of this arm 18 is provided with a forwardly extending toe 24: through which this feeding arm is actuated as hereinafter described. A split bracket 25 extends laterally from one side of the feeding arm through which bracket the stripping screw 27 is threaded and securely held in position by the binding screw 26. This arm with its attached devices is hereinafter called the feeder. In order that this feeder may be positively actuated to feed the stamp strip forward with each downward stroke of the plunger, I have provided an actuating arm 28, the lower end 29 of which is notched to engage the extending feeder toe 2a. The upper end of this latter arm is pivotally held at 30 to swing on the extension arm 31 which latter is rigidly fixed to the plunger rod 32. The upper end of this plunger rod is provided with a rounding head 33 adapted to receive the hand of the operator. The lower end of this head is made in an inverted cupshape as at 3st to fit over another cup-shaped member 35, inside of both of which cups a spring 36 is held inside of the housing formed by both cups and is for the purpose of returning the plunger to its raised or normal position. The lower end of the plunger is provided with the usual foot 37 and the pad 38 and to the rear of this foot is attached the knife 39 the lower edge lO of which is far enough above the stamp slot 41 so that the first downward motion of the plunger feeds the stamp its full length out through the opening 41 before the cutting edge of the blade reaches and sever-s the stamp from the strip.

In order to control the action of the actuating arm 28 upon the feeding mechanism, 1 have provided a controlling knee lever 42 pivoted at 43 to the casing. One end of this lever is provided with a laterally extending end ll for engaging the back edge of the arm 28 and against which this arm is held to ride vertically under tension of the light spring 45. The rear end of said spring is fastened to the pin 46 which pin also serves as a stop against which the feeding arm 18 is normally held under tension of its spring 4-7. The rearwardly extending arm 48 of this knee lever serves as a handle for operating the same and this portion is provided with a laterally extending detent pin 49 adapted to enter corresponding recesses 50 and 51 in the member 52 whereby when the retaining pin is in the upper hole 50 the actuating arm, which rests against it, is permitted to engage the feeder toe and when this detent pin is in the lower hole 51 the actuating arm is carried out beyond the feeding toe and cannot engage the same when the plunger is actuated.

The construction and operation of my improved mechanism may be more fully described as follows: lVhen the roll of stamps is placed into the casing the end a is fed in under the tension member 10 with its end projecting through the opening 41 and flush with the outer knife engaging surface. The friction of this tension member under the pull of the spring 17 prevents the stamp strip from moving when the feeder returns downward which motion first causes the actuating arm 28 to engage the feeder toe 24: thereby swinging the feeder arm with its feeder fingers forward until it brings up against the stop pin 54 at which time the tripper screw 27 engages the back portion of the actuating arm and pushes the lower end from engagement with the feeder toe thereby releasing this feeding arm and permitting it to at once return under tension of its spring 47 to its normal position. This forward motion of the feeder arm carries the stamp strip forward with a positive movement exactly the length of a single stamp. The edge of the knife l0 by this time has reached the stamp and a further m vement in the same direction severs the stamp, which is now engaged by the foot of the plunger and simultaneously pressed against and affixed to the envelop. This action may be repeated very rapidly even as fast as the operator can work the plunger the mechanism being positive and accurate to feed, cut off and a llix a stamp at each downward stroke of the actuating plunger. In order to insure the disengaging of theactuating arm from the feeder toe the tripper screw is provided with a very fine adjustment whereby this screw may be moved to readily compensate for any wear of the parts.

A feature of my improved construction is the simple means by which the actuating mechanism may be entirely disengaged from the feeding mechanism which is by the movement of the little knee lever L2. "When the detent pin of this lever is in its upper recess 50 the actuating arm 28 which rides vertically against the end thereof is guided to engage and operate the feeding mechanism, but when the handle 418 of this knee lever is carried downward so that the detent pin is in its lower recess 51, then the actuating arm is carried forward so that its lower end is entirely clear of the feeder finger 24 permitting the plunger to be operated to any extent without in any way affecting the feeding mechanism.

It is found in practice that this arrangement is much better than looking or fixing the plunger in either its up or down position, as some unauthorized person in trying to operate the machine so locked is liable to spring or bend the parts and render the whole machine inoperative, while by simply disconnecting the actuating mechanism from the feeding mechanism the former can be freely operated without in any vay injuring or affecting the parts of the machine. Then again, by my construction it will be seen that when the machine is left after operating there is no stamp extending from the casing, which effectually obviates the temptation of unauthorized persons to tamper with the stamp strip, which feature is found in practice to be very effective and greatly to be desired. The positive feeding of the stamp forward by the downward stroke of the plunger also insures the unfailing operation of the feeding mechanism.

I claim:

1. In a stamp affixing machine, actuating means including a plunger, a feeder positively actuated by said plunger to feed the stamp strip, means for automatically disengaging the actuating means from the feeder means at a predetermined point in the forward movement of the latter, and a spring for returning and normally holding said feeder at the beginning of its feeding stroke.

2. In a stamp affixing machine, actuating means including a plunger, a feeder n0rmally held at the beginning of its feeding stroke whereby the first operating motion of.

the plunger starts the feeder to feed the strip, and means for automatically discon necting the actuating means from the feeder at a predetermined point in the forward stroke of the latter, and independent means for causing both feeder and actuator to return to normal.

3. In a stamp affixing machine, actuating means including a plunger, a feeder normally held at the beginning of its feeding stroke whereby the first downward motion of the plunger actuates the feeder to feed the strip, and an adjustable tripper actuated by the feeder for disconnecting the actuating means from the feeder at a predetermined point in the forward-stroke of the latter.

4. In a stamp affixing machine, a feeder comprising a pivoted arm carrying a plurality of stamp strip feeding fingers, a plunger, an actuating arm carried by said plunger, and means whereby the downward motion of said plunger causes said actuating arm to engage and operate said feeder to feed the stamp .strip a predetermined distance and then to automatically disengage the same.

5. In a stamp affixing machine, a stamp strip feeder, actuating means therefor and a movable member actuated to disconnect said actuating means from said feeder whereby the former is rendered inoperative at a predetermined point in the forward stroke of the feeder.

' 6. In a stamp affixing machine, actuating means including a plunger, a feeder, means for automatically disengaging the actuating means from the feeder at a predetermined point in the forward movement of the latter and means for automatically connecting the actuating means to the feeder when the actuator returns to its operating position.

7. In astamp affixing machine, a stamp strip feeder, actuating means therefor and a movable guide lever for disconnecting said actuating means from said feeder whereby the former is rendered inoperative.

8. In a stamp affixing machine, a stamp strip feeder, actuating means therefor, and means whereby said actuating means is permitted to move but rendered inoperative.

9. In a stamp affixing machine, actuating means including a plunger, a feeder normally held at the beginning of its feeding stroke whereby the first downward motion of the plunger moves the feeder to feed the strip, and means for controlling the connecting and disconnecting of said actuating arm to and from said feeder.

10. Ina stamp affixing machine, a plunger carrying an actuating arm, a feeder arm actuated by said first named arm, and a tripper carried by the feeder arms for causing the first named arm to disengage the feeder arm at a predetermined point in its downward stroke.

11. In a stamp affixing machine, a plunger carrying an actuating arm, a feeder arm actuated by said first named arm, and a tripper carried by the feeder arms for causing the first named arm to disengage the feeder arm at a predetermined point in its downward stroke, and a movable guide for rendering said first named arm inoperative.

12. In a stamp affixing machine, a feeder comprising a pivoted arm carrying a plurality of stamp strip engaging fingers, a plunger, an actuated arm carried by said plunger, means whereby the downward motion of said plunger causes said actuating arm to engage and operate said feeder to feed the stamp strip, and means for controlling the connecting and disconnecting of said actuating armto and from said feeder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRED R. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

HOWARD E. BARLOW, E. I. OGDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

